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For Immediate Release

Racial and Ethnic Disparities in Awareness of Heart Disease Risk in Women

New Rochelle, NY, June 6, 2012—Awareness of the risks of heart disease and signs of a heart attack vary greatly among women of different racial and ethnic groups and ages. New data that clearly identify these disparities in heart health awareness are presented in an article in Journal of Women’s Health, a peer-reviewed publication from Mary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers. The article is available free on the Journal of Women’s Health website.

In a pooled analysis from two American Heart Association surveys, Black and Hispanic women were 66% less likely than white women to be aware that heart disease is the leading cause of death in women, report Heidi Mochari-Greenberger, MPH, PhD, Lori Mosca, MD, MPH, PhD, New York-Presbyterian Hospital/Columbia University Medical Center (New York, NY), and Kerri Miller, MA, Harris Interactive (Amherst, NH). Women younger than 55 years of age were also less well-informed about heart disease risk. Overall among women, awareness was low of the most common signs of heart attack, which tend to differ from those in men, according to the article “Racial/Ethnic and Age Differences in Women’s Awareness of Heart Disease.”

“Clearly, education that is targeted to racial/ethnic minority and younger women about heart disease risk is needed, as well as education of all women about the signs and symptoms of a heart attack,” says Susan G. Kornstein, MD, Editor-in-Chief of Journal of Women’s Health, Executive Director of the Virginia Commonwealth University Institute for Women’s Health (Richmond, VA), and President of the Academy of Women’s Health.

About the JournalJournal of Women’s Health, published monthly, is a core multidisciplinary journal dedicated to the diseases and conditions that hold greater risk for or are more prevalent among women, as well as diseases that present differently in women. The Journal covers the latest advances and clinical applications of new diagnostic procedures and therapeutic protocols for the prevention and management of women’s healthcare issues. Tables of content and a sample issue may be viewed on the Journal of Women’s Health website. Journal of Women’s Health is the Official Journal of the Academy of Women’s Health.

About the SocietyAcademy of Women’s Health is an interdisciplinary, international association of physicians, nurses, and other health professionals who work across the broad field of women’s health, providing its members with up-to-date advances and options in clinical care that will enable the best outcomes for their women patients. The Academy’s focus includes the dissemination of translational research and evidence-based practices for disease prevention, diagnosis, and treatment for women across the lifespan.

About the PublisherMary Ann Liebert, Inc., publishers is a privately held, fully integrated media company known for establishing authoritative peer-reviewed journals in many promising areas of science and biomedical research, including Breastfeeding Medicine, Population Health Management, Thyroid, and Metabolic Syndrome and Related Disorders. Its biotechnology trade magazine, Genetic Engineering & Biotechnology News (GEN), was the first in its field and is today the industry’s most widely read publication worldwide. A complete list of the firm’s 70 journals, books, and newsmagazines is available on the Mary Ann Liebert, Inc. website.